The lane crested, and a moment later the inn came into view.
It was big, but not hotel big.
Three stories of weathered wood and stone, with a wraparound porch and a line of warm, yellow windows. Smoke curled from a massive stone chimney, disappearing into the falling snow.
A smaller outbuilding sat off to one side—maybe a shed or a generator house.
A large deck stretched toward the slope behind the inn, where dark tree trunks rose like sentries.
The place should have looked inviting.
So why did Olive’s stomach knot? Maybe Rex was right—shedidneed some time off.
She was starting to see danger in the most inconspicuous places.
Jason pulled into a small, plowed parking area in front. Two other vehicles already sat there, snow climbing halfway up their wheels. Tevin’s van was hard to miss, the boxy shape dusted in white. Last Olive had heard, Mitzi, Nova, and JJ were riding here with him. Next to it was a dark SUV with Tennessee plates—probably belonging to staff here at the inn.
The rest of the team would arrive soon, and more vehicles would fill the spaces.
Jason put the Range Rover in Park, killed the engine, and turned toward her. “You okay?”
Olive unclenched her hand from the door handle, her knuckles white. “I’m fine. My spine just likes to practice for worst-case scenarios. It’s a hobby.”
“Tell it to pick a different hobby.” His gaze softened. “We’re off duty, remember? As off as we ever get.”
She observed him a moment.
Jason had the kind of presence that didn’t demand attention—it quietly commanded it. Broad-shouldered, steady, the sort of man who made stillness look intentional.
His dark hair was a little too long, always curling just enough to hint at rebellion against Aegis regulations. A faint scar cut through one eyebrow, a souvenir from some past army mission he didn’t like to talk about.
His eyes were a cool, unreadable gray, but every so often—usually when he was teasing her—they softened, revealing something warmer beneath the surface. He carried himself like a man who’d seen too much and learned to live with it, who found calm in chaos and made silence feel safe.
And maybe that was what unnerved Olive the most. Because Jason didn’t just see things; henoticedthem—her, especially. And noticing could be dangerous.
The two of them had officially been dating for two months now. But Jason had been her first love back in high school. Olive still couldn’t believe that life had brought them back together.
ThatGodhad brought them back together.
She wanted to believe Jason’s statement—that they were off duty. But being off duty didn’t erase all the things she’d seen.
The bodies.
The betrayals.
The nightmares that still woke her up in a cold sweat, heart pounding, ears straining for sounds that weren’t there.
“Let’s just get inside,” she said. “Before the walkway freezes solid and we’re stuck out here, trying to build an igloo out of any drone parts Tevin left in the van.”
Jason chuckled. “Tevin would be very impressed if we did that.”
“And he’d enjoy it.” She smiled at the thought of her favorite tech guy.
As they climbed from the SUV, cold air slapped Olive’s face. She tugged her knit cap over her ears and zipped her coat higher.
Snowflakes stung her cheeks as she circled to the back and grabbed her duffel.
Jason took it from her without asking.
